Forged Legacy

Chapter 120 - Cognition Matrix

Is it really you? Harvey asked the new voice inside his head.

[In the flesh! Well, not really. You know what I mean] Julian’s voice responded.

It felt like the world started to spin as Harvey reached for the golden contraption that had invaded the back of his neck. The pain of the wires worming through his flesh was gone, but hearing Julian’s voice brought the agony of his death roaring back.

Had he finally lost it? Was the System playing some cruel trick on him?

No. His Willpower was strong enough now to know this was real.

“How?” Harvey stammered.

Anything is possible, Harvey. The System’s voice answered as the wooden table and crystal mirror disappeared, leaving the endless void barren except for the swirling red and silver portal. Harvey couldn’t tell if he moved or the portal did, but in an instant, it swallowed him whole.

Suddenly, he found himself standing in a concrete jungle. The crackle of an old neon sign and the stench of stale cigarettes filled the air as a steady breeze made a worn flyer flap beneath his armored boot. Harvey bent to pick it up, only to toss it away when he saw what it advertised.

[No way. This trial has strip clubs?] Julian laughed.

I guess. Harvey scoffed.

Turning around, he saw the buzzing sign hanging over the doors to a smoke shop called Holy Smokes. Half the letters were dim, the plastic cracked and warped. Wrought iron bars covered the windows, but shattered glass still covered the dirty sidewalk from when someone decided to smash through them anyway.

[You smoke?] Julian asked.

No. You?

[I used to. My wife finally got me to quit when our first baby was born. The risks never really bothered me when I was younger since I figured a fire would get me before lung cancer ever did, but holding my daughter for the first time…] he paused. [That convinced me to stick around as long as I could.]

Julian. I… Harvey hesitated. I’m so sorry.

[It’s ok. I knew the risks of the life I chose.}

You didn’t choose to die at the hands of a maniac prophet.

[No, but I chose to be a firefighter. The way I see it, getting a second chance to fight my way home was more than I could have ever asked for.]

But you were so close.

[It’s ok, Harvey. Really, it is. My family and I made our peace with this a long time ago. I wanted nothing more than to see my little girls again, but at least they know their daddy died a hero.]

You really are. None of us would have made it out of there without you taking out Marcus.

[Me? All these memories in your head tell a different story,] Julian laughed.

You can see my memories?

[Yup. Even the weird ones.]

Harvey gulped, thinking back to all the strange thoughts he’d had over the years.

[Don’t worry. I’m more interested in everything else that got jammed into this crystal with me. Is this what it’s like to be smart?]

What?

[I just know stuff now. Physics, Engineering, Shakespeare. All I have to do is think, and the answer shows up out of nowhere. Here, ask me a question.]

Your Imprint got fused with an AI model I built. You’re probably just pulling data from that.

[Don’t ruin this for me! Come on, ask me something!]

Fine. What’s Hooke’s Law?

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

[An empirical law that states the force required to extend or compress a spring by some distance is directly proportional to that distance, with a formula of F= kx. How the hell do I know that?] Julian marveled.

Because I trained Aurelia to help the engineers at my firm, and the model wouldn’t work if it didn’t understand all the basic formulas, Harvey chuckled.

[So I’m an engineer now?]

No, you’d need to spend a few years in school just figuring out the basics before you can really get your feet wet with some hands-on experience.

[Why go to school when I literally know every page of every engineering textbook front to back?]

Umm… Harvey tried to come up with a reason, but nothing other than the age-old excuse of I had to, so you do too came to mind.

[You try. Think of something you wouldn’t know off the top of your head.]

Ok. Umm, who had the best batting average in professional baseball last year?

Before he could finish his thought, the answer for every professional league appeared in his mind. He didn’t see it laid out on a screen, but knew it as sure as he knew his own name.

[Crazy, right?]

Yeah… crazy. He thought. A shiver went down his spine, and for a moment, he thought he could feel the cold, golden wires buried in his flesh.

[Harvey? You ok?] Julian asked.

You’re in my head. You know what I’m thinking. Harvey thought back.

Looking at the city street around him, the dirty streets, decaying plants, and plywood-covered doors, he was acutely aware of how alien he’d become. The System had strapped him back into his armor when the portal spat him out, and he imagined what he must look like to someone looking out the barred windows of one of these buildings.

[A very enthusiastic cosplayer] Julian muttered.

That’s what I thought…

A strange man standing in steel armor covered head to toe in gashes, scratches, dents, scorch marks, and magic arrays. A man with a ring on his finger that held mountains of magic crystals, dragon bones, and weapons. A man with a crystal plugged straight into his brain that contained a mix of his dead friend and a superpowered artificial intelligence.

The System had already turned his world upside down, but something about this just felt… wrong.

[Harvey… I]

Just give me a minute to process. Please.

The rattle of steel echoed off the concrete walls as he paced the empty street. At first, he stuck to the sidewalk until he realized there wasn’t a single car, bus, or bike in sight. Harvey had no idea if this city block was taken from somewhere back on Earth or was simply conjured by the System, but it didn’t look like he’d be getting back behind the wheel anytime soon.

Good. I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. Harvey thought. Ok, listen, what exactly are you? Do you know?

[Not exactly. Part of me is Julian. Part of me is Aurelia. I have his memories, but I can tell I’m not really him.]

Am I carrying a piece of his soul? Harvey asked, worried that the System’s meddling might have trapped a part of him inside that crystal. From what Marcus said, the afterlife was still a mystery even after joining the multiverse, and if there was any chance the reward he’d gotten for finishing his quest was preventing the real Julian from passing peacefully, Harvey would find a way to destroy the Cognition Matrix.

[No. Not his soul, just his legacy.]

What does that even mean?

[Honestly? I have no idea. Fusing with Aurelia taught me a lot about Earth stuff, but your guess is as good as mine when it comes to the System.]

That answer’s not good enough.

[You’re right…]

You can see why I’m worried, right? What would Julian do if I got crammed in his head?

[First, he’d worry about holding you back. Then, he’d worry about you doing some hostile takeover of his body.]

Harvey was relieved to hear the Cognition Matrix bring up the idea. Of course, it could read the nagging concern hovering at the back of his mind, but the fact that it didn’t ignore the risk was probably a good sign.

How can I be sure that won’t happen?

[This is going to sound weird, and I doubt you’ll believe me, but I don’t really want anything. It’s like I have no desires anymore. Even saying this makes me wonder if I’m sick in the head, but I don’t yearn to see my girls again. I love them, but the part of me that wants to be in their future is gone. Julian is at peace, so I’m at peace.]

Then what’s your purpose?

[I don’t know. Help you? Exist? Protect you as best as I can?]

So you’re claiming the Cognition Matrix made you some kind of mind slave?

[Is a computer a slave? Look at it this way. You got me as a quest reward from the System, right?]

Yeah?

[It wouldn’t be a reward if it didn’t help you, right? With me, it’s not just the extra stats. You’re getting an angel on your shoulder.]

Extra stats?

[Oh yeah, I guess you haven’t checked yet.}

Harvey pulled up his Status screen. The numbers didn’t lie. He’d gotten an extra 10% boost to both his Wisdom and Willpower, meaning the Cognition Matrix was almost as good as an Imprint.

[There’s no way I can prove it, but all I want is to help my friend. Half of my consciousness was literally created by your hand, and the other half just spent months fighting alongside you.]

Don’t start telling everyone I created you. That just makes it worse. Harvey chuckled.

[Who would I tell? I can only talk to you,] Julian’s voice laughed. [What about this? If calling me Julian is too hard, what if you call me something else?]

You’d change your name for me?

[I don’t think I have one, but if I did, then right now I’d have two.]

Harvey stewed about it for a long time, staring at the wood grain of a door that was falling off its hinges and led into a dark hallway. Everything Julian – the cognition matrix, he corrected himself – said made sense, but since when did rationality ever help assuage the anxiety of the mind?

I just don’t have the info I need to make a good decision right now, so until I do… I’m going to call you Julius.

[Big fan of the Roman names, huh? Sounds great to me!]